(no subject)

[spatch]

Yesterday, while walking up the Fort Point riverwalk, I happened to view two dog owners engaged in heated debate. One, whose large aggressive dog was leashed, was taking the other, whose tiny chihuahua-like breed was roaming free, to task, quoting Boston City Ordinance leash law numbers that changed every time he tried to reiterate his main point. The big dog's owner was concerned he would be liable if his big dog attacked her little dog, and that she was irresponsible for letting her dog roam free. The little dog's owner made the points that the big dog's owner should just butt out and that he wasn't a lawyer and maybe he should control his dog better if he was afraid it was gonna go around attacking other dogs. Regardless of who was right and who was wrong in this scenario -- I sure as hell can't make that judgement, I don't own a dog -- the punchline came when I walked by and passed another woman, who'd been viewing the spectacle as well.

"Man, kids are so much easier," she said sotto voce as we passed each other, and I have the feeling we both continued on walking with conspiratorial snickering grins on our faces.

Later, in the checkout line at the market, I watched a hyperactive three-year-old bouncing up and down in a shopping cart. He was trying to sing the ABC song, and made several very loud attempts. When he finally got to Z and it was apparent he would receive no artistic accolades for his meritorious efforts, he threw a package of bratwurst at his mom, catching her right in the solar plexus. Some Very Pointed Admonishment ensued.

"Should've just gotten a dog," the man standing behind me observed quietly.

It's those little moments in life that really make a day great.

Comments

[bismuthobsidian.livejournal.com]

The only point you can take from this is that obviously every living creature is demonspawn. Whaaaaaaaaaaa! Woof!

[spatch]

I can agree with that!

WHAAAAAAARRRGHHH!!!

[betweenstations.livejournal.com]

For the record, I think that even though MA is a strict liability state for dog attacks on people, if runty dog chick was violating leash law, and he lost control of his leashed dog to eet little dog, he'd be somewhat liable, but she'd have a huge chunk of contributory negligence to reduce any damages awarded.

[orionsmom.livejournal.com]

I agree... they are both screwed. :)

And the REAL morale of the story is...

[allicat42.livejournal.com]

Get a cat. Meow!

Re: And the REAL morale of the story is...

[eclecticavatar.livejournal.com]

heck yes! or a little dog that you can carry around.

Re: And the REAL morale of the story is...

[spatch]

I tried teaching Abbie and Martha how to go outside with a kitty harness on when they were wee kittens. They fought like mad when I put the harness on, and they fought like mad when I tried to take the harness off, so I decided maybe they weren't going to enjoy wearing a harness and abandoned the project. Besides, all Abbie did when I took him outside was eat dirt.

I wonder what would've happened if I'd been more persistent in my training and they'd been more amenable to the harnessing. I could walk the 20-pound cat around like a little dog!

Re: And the REAL morale of the story is...

[eclecticavatar.livejournal.com]

I tried that on Lenore, my first ever kitty and all she did was go out and tangle herself and me all up with the leash through bushes, over walls, around fences...

No cat in history has ever walked a completely straight line.

Re: And the REAL morale of the story is...

[ladivinafemme.livejournal.com]

Bosco loves going out for salad in his harness and leash.

(The above is not Bosco, but his sister, Pippa, who has mixed feelings about The Great Outdoors.)

Re: And the REAL morale of the story is...

[luckimunki.livejournal.com]

Pippa looks just like my Dottie. Does she have dots on her paws also?

Re: And the REAL morale of the story is...

[jodied.livejournal.com]

That 20-pound cat is twice the size of a little dog!

[(Anonymous)]

I'm a childless dog owner but I'll vote for dog's being easier. They're generally tough for the first year or two, but after that, no back talk, no college to pay for and no drug and sex lectures to give.

That said, nothing annoys me more than people who let their dogs off leash in on-leash areas. Boston is notoriously short on off-leash areas but it still doesn't make it right to let your dog roam free. Leashed dogs often feel threatened when approached by an unleashed dog and that causes huge problems.

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

I don't think any dog who can't sit and stay reliably on voice command should be allowed off leash. That's for its own safety, because even a chihuahua can streak off into the street faster than its owner can grab it.

[kpht.livejournal.com]

you're right, the big dog owner was correct. if she actually cared about her dog as more than just a toy put on earth for her amusement, she'd obviously have it leashed. even if the large dog is extremely tolerant, small dogs are obviously outsized and will often be aggressive just because they're smaller (my parent's dog does this to our poor well-behaved hound). and even if the dog can sit and stay, if it is panicking, it's going to ignore the owner and run into the street and get squashed. and then she'll probably blame someone else for it.

[luckimunki.livejournal.com]

Not to mention the fact if the big dog does get violent and kills the little dog, it becomes a death sentence for that big dog and a fine for the owner. Regardless of whether the little dog was leashed, I believe.

[reveritas.livejournal.com]

see, that would just depress me. you can't win with the public!

[spatch]

I wonder what people would say if you had a kid and a dog and both began behaving like hooligans.

[mhaille.livejournal.com]

Feed one to the other, as appropriate for relative size?

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Y'know, based on that whole (first) scenario, I figured the woman meant that kids are easier than men. ;)